


crazy little thing called love

by BloodRaven55



Category: RWBY
Genre: Aromantic Ruby Rose (RWBY), Asexual Ruby Rose (RWBY), F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, One Shot, Post-Volume 6 (RWBY), basically this is bumbleby from ruby's pov, but very very vaguely implied, i rated it t anyway as a precaution tho, with a dash of Suffering Weiss™ for good measure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-27 00:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodRaven55/pseuds/BloodRaven55
Summary: Ruby doesn’t get romance. It’s confusing to her— has been for as long as she can remember. But she’s pretty sure it’s what’s happening between Yang and Blake.a.k.a. Ruby figures some things out, the Bees are buzzing, Yang and Ruby are best sisters, and Weiss is still trying to be the voice of reason.





	crazy little thing called love

**Author's Note:**

> So this is where I admit that sexuality-wise I still don't quite know what the hell I am, but I am somewhere on the ace spectrum, and that was part of the inspiration for writing this story. I've always headcanoned Ruby as ace aro, and I also wanted to practice writing from her perspective more, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. That said, I don't identify quite the same way as Ruby in this story, so if I'm misrepresenting anything there then please (politely) let me know :)
> 
> With that out of the way, please enjoy!

Ruby doesn’t get romance. It’s confusing to her— has been for as long as she can remember. But she’s pretty sure it’s what’s happening between Yang and Blake.

They’re all meant to be getting some rest now that they’ve finally found an inn in Atlas that has room for the whole group, but further along the rundown motel corridor Yang is leaning against the wall talking to Blake, their voices quiet in a conversation meant only for the two of them.

Ruby’s not blind. She didn't miss the way her sister kept an arm around Blake for almost the entire airship ride to Atlas, or the way Blake smiled when Yang took her hand. She might not understand how it feels to want to hold hands with someone so often, or why it's fun to try and flirt with them, but she's not so naïve or oblivious that she doesn't recognise what's going on. Not anymore, at least.

She remembers the first time she was really aware of dating. Yang was fifteen, and a girl in her History of Remnant class at Signal had ‘caught her eye’. Whatever that meant.

Anyway, her confident, impossible-to-embarrass sister started blushing and stammering whenever their dad asked about how things were going at school. And on the nights when Tai had shut himself in his room or ‘gone for a walk’ and Yang was making dinner, she would tell Ruby without any prompting about The Girl— was her name Ada? Or maybe Ava?

Ruby listened to Yang ramble about how smart Ada-or-Ava was, how funny her jokes were, and she learnt that you could use more adjectives than she had known existed for the colour of someone’s eyes if you spent as much time describing them as Yang did.

It was weird, but if it made her sister happy then Ruby didn’t mind. At least, she didn’t mind until Yang came home from school crying. Ruby asked what was wrong when Yang finally came out of her room again two hours later, and it turned out that Ada-or-Ava had a boyfriend.

Ruby wasn’t quite sure why that information would make someone as tough as her big sister cry, but she got the feeling that asking that question then might make things worse, so she hugged Yang instead.

A few weeks after that Yang was smiling and laughing again, and Ruby wondered what the big deal had been if Yang had recovered so quickly from whatever had made her so upset. She did ask about it that time, and Yang shrugged it off, explaining that it had only been a crush and she was over it now. Satisfied that it was no longer such a sensitive subject, Ruby asked her the other questions that had been nagging at her as well.

_Why would you want to spend time kissing someone when you could be building an awesome new weapon instead?_

_Why is it bad that she has a boyfriend? Doesn't that mean she's happy?_

_What does having a crush feel like?_

Yang’s answers ranged from confusing to informative.

_Because kissing is fun. And you can still build awesome new weapons when you’re not kissing someone. Or maybe you could build weapons while you kiss them, but that might be dangerous. Don’t ever do that, Ruby._

_It’s not bad that she has a boyfriend. And I am happy that she's happy. I just— I really liked her so it hurt that she didn’t like me the same way._

_It feels like… it feels like you can do anything. You meet someone and they’re just so cool. You want to know everything about them. You want to spend every second of the day with them. It’s hard to explain. When you like someone you’ll know what I mean._

Yang ruffled her hair, and Ruby nodded like she understood. She did, in a way. The idea of romance made more sense to her after that, but she still didn’t see why people got so worked up about it.

She’s jolted back into the present by a finger tapping her on the shoulder, and she glances to the right to find Weiss standing next to her.

“What are you going to do about those two?” Weiss inclines her head towards their teammates, and Ruby returns her gaze to where Yang and Blake are still in a world of their own.

They’re doing the forgetting-about-personal-space thing again; Yang's thumb is rubbing absent-mindedly over Blake's knuckles where they’re holding hands, and Ruby's never seen such an affectionate expression on Blake's face before.

She turns back to Weiss. “What do you mean?”

“Look, Ruby. I'm happy for them. Of course I am. But I want to be certain that whatever it is they're doing won't affect our mission.”

Ruby's beginning to feel like she's very out of her depth here, but she agrees anyway. After all, she's a Huntress—a mature warrior with a tactical mind—and she will not be defeated by something as minor as her sister and her teammate ‘making heart eyes’ at each other. Handling this should be nothing compared to jumping into the weapon of a giant mech or turning a Leviathan to stone.

“Don't worry, Weiss. I'll talk to Yang about it tomorrow.”

“Good. I trust them, and I don't think they'll let it get in the way of doing their jobs, but it won't do any harm to make sure.”

  


* * *

  


Half an hour later Ruby's sitting on her single bed in the room she's sharing with Weiss, reading a comic that she's been meaning to catch up on for months. She's so invested in the hero's punch-up with the big bad that she doesn't notice Weiss has returned from the bathroom until the door shuts behind her, and she only looks up from the page she's on when her partner starts pacing the room.

Weiss' face is bright red, and she looks flustered—or embarrassed, maybe—in a way that Ruby would have thought too unladylike for someone who's usually so refined. But then, unladylike is a good thing in her opinion—she doesn't think 'proper ladies' are allowed to eat eight cookies in one sitting, and that's a deal-breaker for her—so she's not judging.

“What's the matter, Weiss? Your face is kind of red— wait, I'm sorry, is that rude? It feels like it's rude—”

“It's not rude, Ruby.” Weiss lets out a long sigh and sits down at the desk, picking up a brush and starting to work out the tangles in her hair. “And nothing's the matter.”

Ruby doesn't totally believe her, but she hasn't yet figured out how to prod at the few sharp edges of Weiss' prickly persona that are left without cutting herself, and she lets it go. Things are different to how they were at Beacon, though, and after a moment Weiss says more without any pushing.

“I'm not trying to keep anything from you, Ruby, I promise. It's just honestly not important.”

The answer only makes Ruby more curious, but she accepts it as the end of the conversation, trusting that Weiss would tell her if it was something significant. She's about to pick up where she left off in the comic, hoping to lose herself in the rhythm of the story again, when she hears a noise echo faintly from somewhere down the corridor.

She focusses, trying to pinpoint the sound, and after a few seconds she manages to make it out. That's definitely Yang's voice, and— _oh._

Well, that's something she never wants to hear again. Ever.

“Weiss, is that—”

“Yes, it is. Now do you see why I didn't want to mention it?”

“Absolutely. And just so we're clear, I'm perfectly fine never mentioning it again.”

“That feeling is more than mutual.”

Several minutes pass in awkward silence—or awkward _almost_ silence, but Ruby's trying not to think about that—until she can't hold in the thought tugging at her mind any longer.

“Weiss, have you ever been in love?”

Weiss turns around in her chair to face her, looking mildly surprised at the question, and she doesn't answer immediately. Which is fair; it isn't exactly a simple topic.

“No,” Weiss says eventually. “But I've imagined how it would feel. I think I would like to meet someone someday.”

It's pretty much the response Ruby expected, and she swallows hard, summoning the courage to say what she wants to before she loses her nerve.

“I don't think I would.”

If Weiss is shocked, she doesn't show it. Her expression remains neutral, her gaze steady.

“That's fine, Ruby. Romance isn't for everyone.”

It's amazing how much relief that one sentence brings.

Not _you're still young, you'll get there soon_ or _there's still time for you to change your mind._

She's heard those before, from teachers and classmates and family friends.

_Romance isn't for everyone._

It's just four simple words, but it feels like something's clicked into place inside her—like a part that was out of alignment until now is finally working as it should—and a weight that she didn't even know she was carrying disappears from her shoulders.

  


* * *

  


The next morning Ruby wakes feeling like it's going to be a good day. She eats breakfast in the inn's dining room with the others—except for two of the group who are conspicuously missing—and the light atmosphere is welcome after the chaos of the past weeks.

It’s late enough that they’ve missed any other people who might be staying in the inn, so they have the area to themselves. Which is good considering the amount of food a bunch of hungry teenagers—or even just a hungry Nora—can consume when left unchecked.

Blake appears ten minutes later, clearly only half-awake and wearing what Ruby's pretty sure is one of Yang's t-shirts. No one says anything as she downs a mug of coffee and pours herself a second one, but Jaune and Nora exchange a knowing look. Yang arrives suspiciously soon after, bright and cheerful and looking positively rejuvenated.

She joins Blake at the coffee machine, resting a hand on her hip as she reaches for a mug, and Ruby can't help noticing the way that Yang's happiness seems to become Blake's happiness. Where she looked tired before, now Blake's smiling, whispering something that makes Yang laugh, and Ruby's pleased to see them so relaxed.

This is the perfect time to talk to Yang like Weiss asked, however, so she gets up from the table and heads over to them, placing a hand on Yang's arm to get her attention.

Yang turns to face her, and Ruby puts on what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Hey, sis, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure.” Yang looks confused, and a little concerned, but when Blake gives her hand a squeeze before leaving them alone she relaxes a little.

“So... about you and Blake—”

Yang's expression turns into something approaching guilt. “Listen, Ruby, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it was so new and I didn't want to announce it to everyone and then screw it up, y'know. But you're my sister and you deserved to know, so I'm sorry.”

This isn't even remotely how Ruby anticipated this conversation going, but she definitely isn't mad that Yang didn't tell her about this. Yang’s given up far too much for her ever since she was a child, always taking care of everyone else before herself, and Ruby’s just pleased that her sister finally has someone who’ll look after her in return.

“No, no, no, Yang. You don't need to be sorry. That isn't what this is about. Weiss just wanted—well I did too, but mostly Weiss—we just wanted to check that what's going on with you and Blake isn't going to affect the team at all.”

The tension drains from Yang's posture, her features softening in relief. “Oh. Right. Yeah, of course. Don't worry, Ruby, we’re not gonna let it mess with our work.”

Ruby doesn’t know what compels her to say it, but before she realises it she's added, “And, Yang, there's something I want to tell you too.”

Yang looks at her expectantly, and Ruby almost chickens out, but it's just Yang—her big sister who's been looking out for her since before she could talk—and she knows she has no reason to be worried.

“I'm not interested in that. Like, dating and romance and kissing and stuff. It isn't for me.”

Yang doesn't react for the longest moment of Ruby's life, her expression blank as she processes this new information. And then she pulls Ruby into a crushing hug, cutting off her oxygen but filling her heart with acceptance. Ruby stays in the familiar safety of Yang's arms for a long moment, and then struggles to get free when air becomes a necessity.

“Yang, get off! I need to breathe.”

Yang laughs, still unable to resist a chance to tease her after all these years, but she does release her. “I love you, Ruby.”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too,” she grumbles, feigning offence that her own flesh and blood would mock her in her suffering, but they both know she doesn’t mean it.

Yang heads back to the table, and Ruby watches as her sister sits down next to Blake, watches as Yang wraps an arm around her partner and Blake leans into her side.

Ruby still doesn’t get romance completely, and that's fine. She doesn't have to. But she knows that Yang and Blake love each other—that they’re good for each other—and that’s all that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so a few final notes too.
> 
> I love Ruby, and I love the development she got in V6. I can't wait to see how she grows more in the coming seasons.
> 
> I also love Ruby and Yang's sibling dynamic. So much.
> 
> The name of the girl Yang had a crush on back in school was not entirely random. Ava is a variant of Eve, which was of course the name of the first woman in the Bible, so since I needed a name it seemed to fit for the first girl that Yang ever had feelings for. I am an atheist, though, so there was no religious significance intended with the name. And Ada was just because it looked and sounded similar enough that Ruby could feasibly confuse the two.
> 
> Finally, Bumbleby is canon queen and I am not ready for what happens with them and their relationship in V7. It's gonna be glorious.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Any and all comments, including constructive criticism, are more than welcome. They make my day and I love reading them :)


End file.
